Monday, April 11, 2011

Proverbs 16:13

"Commit your ways to the Lord and your thoughts will be established"

Our greatest struggle throughout the day is what we think. The reason this is such a struggle is because of the rapidity with which our thoughts can change- in other words, how easily distracted that we can be. Remember the last time you were praying while driving and then someone cut you off, what happened. Did the fact that you were engaged in prayer overwhelm the thoughts of anger and frustration with the person who cut you off or was it the other way around. This verse should give us great comfort as it tells us that if we commit our ways to the Lord He will establish our thoughts. This does not mean that we make our mind go blank and God delivers the right thoughts to us. We are commanded in Gal. 5:16 to walk by means of the Spirit and we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. The desires of the flesh are not just what we do with our members but with our minds- the thoughts that throw us off track from what we should be consumed with which is a desire to serve the Lord and to draw nearer to Him (James 4:8). As Christians we must realize that there is now and always will be an absence in the world around us of encouragement to commit our ways to the Lord. However, the abundance of encouragement that is available to the believer dwarfs anything that the world could possibly offer as we have available for our immediate and enduring consumption the Word of God. Walking by means of the Spirit requires us to be Scripturally saturated- completely emmersing ourselves in the Word of God. This doesn’t mean that we bring our Bible to work and read it on company time. It does mean that we should be starting our day and ending our day in the Word and be thinking about what we read and applying it throughout our day. This is the key (along with not having any unconfessed sin in our life- 1 John 1:9) to walking by means of the Spirit and therefore having God establish our thoughts.

Have you ever noticed that the more you pray the more you want to pray. When you are in this status your first instinct is to pray for everything and anything that comes to your mind. You are ready and willing to grab someone who just laid a problem or struggle that they are having and pray with them right there on the spot. You realize that the problem the person is having is not one for you to solve and so while you may make a suggestion or two (based on Biblical principles) you won’t make your ability to solve the problem the issue. When you are not in this status, prayer is a struggle and if you pray at all it is a grind just to get through it. You probably find it difficult to concentrate and therefore get easily distracted. When someone comes to you with a problem you are more inclined to try and solve it for them with human solutions rather than go to the Lord in prayer. You may tell that person that you will pray for them (because you know that is what you are supposed to do) but you probably won’t pray with them on the spot.

Start your morning with prayer and don’t end that prayer just because you say amen. No matter what you do there will always be moments when you are alone with you thoughts. Use this alone time to pray. Try to pray for others and when you pray for yourself ask the Lord to help you to glorify Him with your thoughts, decisions, and actions. Ask for opportunities to present the Gospel to unbelievers who you know are surrounding you. If someone comes to you with a problem grab that person and pray with him. The more you do this the more you will want to do this! This is how the Lord establishes your thoughts. You make the decision to saturate yourself with His Word, you make the decision to engage in prayer and He establishes your thinking throughout your day.

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PURPOSE STATEMENT

"Draw Near" comes from James 4:8, "draw near to God and He will draw near to you." This verse is the objective of our lives. Our daily challenge as Christians is to draw nearer to God by aligning our thinking with His. Philippians 2:5 says "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." We are to think the thoughts of Christ Who is the author and perfector of our faith. We are to earnestly pursue our objective in a world of continuous distractions. The purpose of this daily devotional is to encourage you as you draw nearer to God each day.